Arrested Development Review: Shaman Shaming

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It's Day 3 of our 15 Days of Arrested Development here at TV Fanatic! In the latest episodeLindsay is in India, wondering what is real. No, seriously, she wants to know if that handbag is real.

Yes, "Indian Takers" is Lindsay’s arrested development.

Speaking to a Shaman

Before I can even begin this review, we need to talk about Portia De Rossi’s face. I’m not judging. I’m not criticizing. I’m not even going to speculate on what she had done. But I cannot be the only person who sees that, right?

It’s distracting and I feel like it could have easily been written into the plot as some sort of crazy treatment Lindsay Bluth had done and I would have gotten over it instantly and moved on. There is just no way Lucille wouldn’t have something to say about her daughter’s forehead that never moves and not mentioning it is more awkward than mentioning it.

Since Lindsay found out she was adopted back during the Great Queen Mary Escapade, her life has been sort of a mess. She broke up with Tobias. Again. She read Eat, Pray, Love (or at least the first two sections) and decided she has to go to India for enlightenment.

After meeting with a shaman who tells her she's full of sh*t and who later possibly turns into an ostrich--anyone else sensing an ostrich theme in this season--she runs out of money and has to go home to testify at Lucille’s trial and give it another shot with Tobias.

Ed Helms makes a fantastic 2006-era realtor, selling the Funke’s a giant, empty house for zero actual dollars. They make it about 90 seconds before the housing market collapses. Fact: I had no idea who John Beard was until this episode, even though he’s been mentioned in all of them so far. Sometimes the in-jokes on this show go over my head.

The funniest moment of the episode came when Tobias mistook the methadone clinic for a method acting class. Not that funny? Marky Bark.

Lindsay thought he was hitting on her immediately, so she and Tobias and Marky’s girlfriend DeBrie went on the most terrible double date ever at a dumpster-dive swapping restaurant.

Marky seems to be as delusional as Lindsay (maybe because he’s on methadone?) and they run off together to his ostrich farm, which also happens to be where his mother lives. The fact that Lindsay got back together with Tobias for approximately five minutes total is true to the original three seasons but it’s not very original. We get it, Lindsay is awful. But she could at least fall for Realtor Ed Helms instead of disgusting ostrich farm guy. 

Lindsay realized she had made a huge mistake less than 24 hours after leaving Tobias. Sleeping in the dirt next to an ostrich pen is a pretty clear indication you might be making poor choices.

And yet she doesn’t just...go back. Why wouldn’t she just go back? 

Probably answer: because this is the story line that fits into the story lines of the rest of the family, so they have to stick with it. So far it's my least favorite, although "least favorite" is relative when we're talking about this show. It's still 90% hilarious.

Hopefully there will be less Marky and more Gob in episode 4.

What did you think of "Indian Takers?" Does the Lindsay and Tobias storyline feel tired? Or true to the original seasons? Don't forget to check out our Arrested Development quotes and add your favorites from this season!

Suzanne Davis is a guest contributor for TV Fanatic. When she's not commanding her ginger army at Bebehblog, you can find her on Twitter.

Indian Takers Review

Editor Rating: 4.0 / 5.0
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User Rating:

Rating: 3.6 / 5.0 (12 Votes)
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Arrested Development Season 4 Episode 3 Quotes

If I'd have told them we were taking a whole bunch of gays out there to get married they'd have thrown me a parade. Let's tell them we were taking a bunch of gays out there to get married!

Lucille

[to Lindsay] "I'm just not that into older women."

Michael